Pharmacist Interview Essay

I aspire to work in the healthcare field. More specifically, one day I hope to be a doctor that specializes in pathology or anesthesiology. It was difficult trying to find someone that took either of those career paths, so instead I opted to interview someone who works in the healthcare field. The person I chose to interview is one of the head pharmacists at the Jupiter Medical Center in South Florida.
When I asked about their roles and responsibilities as a head pharmacist, their response encompassed a wide range of duties. While he has typical duties of a pharmacist (ie: dispensing medications), he also has to go on rounds and see patients. Here, he checks on the patients and makes sure that the nurses are dispensing the right kind of drug

at the right amount. In addition to this, he also has to do a fair amount of paperwork. He noted that while this is the part of his job that he dislikes the most, he has to do it because it comes with being in a higher position.
As mentioned above, the pharmacist stated that the worst part of his job was all of the paperwork that he has to do.

However, since this is a special job that not every pharmacist has to do, I asked him if there were any aspects that pertained more to pharmacy that he dislikes. In response to this question, he recalled that he used to work in retail pharmacy and he extremely disliked that. He said that in a hospital the pharmacist-patient interactions are generally better. Also, he said that when he worked retail he would often have to stay way past his shift, whereas in the hospital he often is able to leave at the time he is supposed

to.
When I asked for three pieces of advice he thought long and hard. His first piece of advice was to keep doing well in school. He noted that medical schools get more competitive each year and that I should make sure that I’m “on top of my game” at all times to ensure that I’m able to go to the school that I want to. His second piece of advice is to be prepared to work long hours. Finally, his third piece of advice was to make sure to find a hobby because sometimes healthcare jobs can be stressful and having an outlet really helps.
Overall, I thought that this interview was very enlightening.

When I think of pharmacy, I tend to think of a person wearing a white lab coat dispensing drugs. However, pharmacy is so much more than that! Also, I thought it was interesting to learn the differences between retail pharmacy and clinical pharmacy. Retail pharmacy tends to be more patient-based and involves a lot of consultation to ensure that the patient understands what there are taking, while clinical pharmacy is more about dispensing drugs and making sure that the patient is receiving them correctly. This was a very informative interview, and while I don’t aspire to be a pharmacist, it definitely makes me more excited for my future in

healthcare!